Furniture construction



Sept. 19, 1933. R. wlLLARD 1,927,429

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 19, 1933. R. wlLLARD 1,927,429

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 11, 1929 2 2 sheets-sheet 2 x 1 A f A Eg.; T/l V @5M/M, dilw:

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UN1TED`STATES .iin'lflaNTl oFFicE p .1,927,429 l VFURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Rudolph Willard, Huntington, W. Va. Application July 11, 1929. serial No. 377,446 1 claim. (ci. 1s-77) t My invention relates generally to improvements in furniture construction and more particularly to an improved drawer construction for articles of furniture,A such as buifets, bureaus, desks and the'like.

In the construction of furniture of the abovementioned type, no provision is ordinarily made to prevent shrinking or swelling of the front wall or the side panels of the drawers under diiferent atmospheric conditions, which causes sticking in the supporting frame, with the result that at certain times of the year in certain parts of the country it is practically impossible to open or close the drawers of such articles.

It is the general object of my invention to provide a new and improved drawer construction that will eliminate sticking of drawers in the drawer compartment under different atmospheric conditions.

It is an object of my invention to provide a drawer front of a built-up construction which will prevent warping of the drawer front. Y

It is an object of my invention to provide a non-swellable and non-shrinkable drawer front, or panel.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a new and improved drawer guide. K

It is a further object of my invention to provide a new and improved drawer guide and support.

A further object of my invention is to provide a drawer construction whichr is simple to make, which is rugged, and which may be economically manufactured. f

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being.

had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chest of drawers constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the drawer taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4 (parts being broken away to show other parts) Fig. 4 is a plan sectional view `taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is aview similar to Fig. 3, showing a drawer in extended position.

In the embodiment chosen to illustrate my invention, I have shown a chest of drawers indicated in its entirety at 10, but it will be understood that the drawers may be part of a desk,

bureau,V buffet or any other similar article of furniture employing drawers. The chest is shown with a base 12, side walls 14, top 16 and back wall 18. The chest contains three drawers 20, 22 and 24, supported bythe horizontally extending frame members, 26, V28 and 30. f Y

The non-swellable or-non-shrinkab1e drawer fronts 32 are provided with door knobs 34. The drawer front has an odd number of plies of wood 32a, b, c, d, e of approximately equal thickness (l5 and a ply 321c of veneer on either side of the wood plies. Side walls 36 and 38 of the drawer and back wall 4G are shown spaced away from the enclosing frame and are shown as being of ordinary wood but it will be understood that the 79 sides, back and bottom of my improved drawer may also be of built-up ply-wood providing a non-swellable or non-shrinkable construction in which event the clearance provided in the drawer compartment may be substantially reduced. v However, for the purpose of this application, the description will be confined to a drawer provided with only a non-swellable or non-shrinkable built-up ply-wood front wall. No attempt isV made to prevent the other walls from warping0 or swelling but the clearance all around is for the purpose of keeping these walls from bearing against the enclosing frame at any point even though warping or swelling has taken place.

A drawer bottom .42 is mounted-in grooves 4485 and 46 in side walls 36 and 38, and is provided with lateral drawer guides 48. These guides cooperate with astationary guide block 50 mounted on the horizontal supporting member to control 'the vertical uiting motion of the drawer, in a.90

manner to be further explained. The drawer guides extend throughout the depth of the drawer and are formed with a protruding lip `or ledge portion 48a.. Guide block 50 is T-shaped and also extends throughout the depth of the drawer, 195 and is xedly mounted on the horizontal frame member. It can readily be seen that by combining the two a tongue and groove connection is formed. f

As best shown in Fig` 5, there is a clearance between theV guides 48 and guide block 50. Thisy is provided so that if wood strips are used for drawer guides the wood in the drawer guide will swell and shrink just as much in percentage as any wood but due to the fact that the members,Y which t together in the guide are usually under an inch in thickness, the total swelling and shrinkage will be less than the allowance in looseness of fit, which is normally provided in 110 the guide to make the drawer run easily. f i

The drawer guide and guide block are further utilized to support the drawer in an extended position (see Fig. 6) by reason of the fact that the enclosing frame is spaced away at the top of the drawer as well as at the sides and rear, the only Contact between the drawer and the frame occurring when the drawer is closed and the side Walls are resting on the frame. 4 A

The vconstruction of front Siwa-ll SZMwlll noivfbe further explained: In the device shown in the drawings I have used five plies of 1/8 inch veneer and a front ply of some face veneer suchl as walnut, and a back ply to balance it. Both `f theseplies would be thin veneer =irily al; inch thick, and by adding these two thin.p1ies of Veneer the balance of the panel wth'ispet to shrinking and swelling rtsfill-r'it be ppresiably affected. In general, my improvement lies not in the use of ply-wood but in so constructing it nation of the features as hereinbefore explained.

'between the drawer and the bottom wall of said kzfiallht for guiding said drawer into its open or closed position, said means serving to support said drawer in its normal plane when extended and serving further to prevent shifting .of said drawer, said means comprising a Tf'shaped guide block secured to said compartment and L-shaped lateral 1guide means secured t o 'the 'lower n'd o'f said'i-awer and embracing the onpositely extending Jflanges 'of saidT-shaped guide'blok.

'RUDOIAPH 

